Let's see if I can write a short message... Hah! We arrived in San Juan del Sur yesterday and spent one night at a mid-range hotel which was comfortable if a little too cool because I set the air con on high and didn't change it when I realized we were freezing. It was an easier trip than most - a bus to Managua, a taxi across town, and then harassed by crazy bus people who all wanted us to go on their bus. Somehow we lucked out. We let a guy lead us to his bus which was a mini-bus, not a van, and paid for our trip to Rivas where we were going to transfer and it left two minutes later. That has happened a lot lately. When we got to Rivas the bus guy asked where we were going, and when we told him San Juan he gave us the good news that the bus continued on there with a side trip to San Jorge, where the ferry to the island of Ometepe leaves from. If we'd been going there we would have been delivered directly to the ferry.
So, lucky us, we stayed on the bus and got here in good time. Found our hotel, two blocks from the beach, which we had booked in advance and found out that there was a power outage so there was no air-con or light, nor could we check in yet because that couldn't happen till 2 o'clock. No problem, we went for a fish lunch - fresh from the bay I think. It was wonderful. Then we lazed around, found an icecream place and had a cone, then finally went back to our hotel and checked in. Nice big room, two single beds, clean, and just fine, and with two windows for a little breeze. No complaints, until the evening when I set that aircon after the electricity came on. We had a cool shower in the afternoon, then slept in the heat. Not bad.
This morning we went around looking for a cheaper hotel. Found a few, but they weren't great - bathroom outside, or a little untidy, no water in the little pool, etc. Then we decided to ask about the fancy place across from the beach. After chatting and negotiating a little we now have a room that almost everyone on our reading list would be happy to stay in. We have a huge room, two double beds, a fridge, a microwave, tv and cable, nice bathroom and a covered patio with a direct view to the beach and patio furniture, the patio is almost as big as our room, and the sun sets right in the center of the bay, so we will have wonderful sunset viewing. The only catch is we have to stay a week and we are paying more - $75.00 yes folks, we are paying the big bucks for a little luxury. It's a big change from our usual places, but we figured we've earned it with all the money we've saved in the cheap places. Oh and a full breakfast is included, as well as a pool that we can cool down in when things get too hot after a walk on the beach.
We're happy - although Geordie thinks I should book a week of Spanish school since there are a couple of recommended ones here. But I'm so lazy - I don't want to study.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Leon
Today was almost easy. Woke up early, after having to put up with a bunch of drunks around the hot tub next to the kitchen, next to our room, but they shut up about 9:30 so we only had to listen to the noisy air con and a couple of screeches from the two huge scarlet macaws around the corner. Breakfast was included, tough eggs and ham, and gallo pinto - rice and beans, along with some white cheese and some well done toast and Butter! Haven´t had any of that for about two weeks.
We caught a taxi outside our hotel door to the bus terminal and the shared microbuses. We were almost the last to arrive, so we took off early, although I was crushed between two guys in the back row, and had to bend forward because there wasn´t enough head room - and I had my pack on my lap. Thank heaven my pack isn´t like the other backpackers around Central America. I can hold mine on my lap.
The ride might have been uneventful, except that the radiator on the van over heated and the driver had to walk up the road, twice to get water for it. The first lot boiled off I think - it was like being in a sauna for awhile. The people in the first three rows had to get out because the engine was under the seats. That took about 15 minutes and while we waited another van came up and the driver and about six passengers came over to act as sidewalk supervisors for the last bit.
But we got to Leon before 9, less than an hour, so I guess the guide book was wrong about its hour estimate, It would have been less than 45 minutes without the road trouble.
Leon is actually quite nice. We have a lovely hotel, although a little expensive for us, but it has air con, two beds, and a lovely sitting area outside our door with about four rocking chairs. Nice for reading of a late afternoon. We also asked for a lamp because again the light in the room is about 15 watts. I told the woman that we needed to read a lot, so had to have the lamp and she brought it right away. Very nice.
We´ve done a walkabout, had a rather weak coffee con leche, and now Geordie is back in the room, waiting for me to show up so we can go out again for lunch. I´m feeling a little peckish, but the choice of restaurants is much better than yesterday. Where we ate last night I ordered ribs with garlic and it came out with about a half cup of garlic spread all over. It was inedible, the fries (supposed to be mash) were cold and there were no "steamed vegetables". Geordie had some delicious deep fried chicken breast though so I shared his tasty food instead.
We´ll probably be here two nights. Apparently Saturday afternoon and evening there is action in the square, food, entertainment, people, so we will wander over to check it out. There are also a couple of museums including the one to Ruben Dario, the poet hero of Nicaragua. Apparently Nicas revere their poets above all. You can even by poems on the street wri
We caught a taxi outside our hotel door to the bus terminal and the shared microbuses. We were almost the last to arrive, so we took off early, although I was crushed between two guys in the back row, and had to bend forward because there wasn´t enough head room - and I had my pack on my lap. Thank heaven my pack isn´t like the other backpackers around Central America. I can hold mine on my lap.
The ride might have been uneventful, except that the radiator on the van over heated and the driver had to walk up the road, twice to get water for it. The first lot boiled off I think - it was like being in a sauna for awhile. The people in the first three rows had to get out because the engine was under the seats. That took about 15 minutes and while we waited another van came up and the driver and about six passengers came over to act as sidewalk supervisors for the last bit.
But we got to Leon before 9, less than an hour, so I guess the guide book was wrong about its hour estimate, It would have been less than 45 minutes without the road trouble.
Leon is actually quite nice. We have a lovely hotel, although a little expensive for us, but it has air con, two beds, and a lovely sitting area outside our door with about four rocking chairs. Nice for reading of a late afternoon. We also asked for a lamp because again the light in the room is about 15 watts. I told the woman that we needed to read a lot, so had to have the lamp and she brought it right away. Very nice.
We´ve done a walkabout, had a rather weak coffee con leche, and now Geordie is back in the room, waiting for me to show up so we can go out again for lunch. I´m feeling a little peckish, but the choice of restaurants is much better than yesterday. Where we ate last night I ordered ribs with garlic and it came out with about a half cup of garlic spread all over. It was inedible, the fries (supposed to be mash) were cold and there were no "steamed vegetables". Geordie had some delicious deep fried chicken breast though so I shared his tasty food instead.
We´ll probably be here two nights. Apparently Saturday afternoon and evening there is action in the square, food, entertainment, people, so we will wander over to check it out. There are also a couple of museums including the one to Ruben Dario, the poet hero of Nicaragua. Apparently Nicas revere their poets above all. You can even by poems on the street wri
3 countries, 1 day, 7 vehicles
Well we made it, even if it did take six hours and all those vehicles. We started across the street at the bus station at 7;20 am and got the bus out to El Amatillo right away, as usual. However, in the town of Santa Rosa de Lima, we were moved to another bus, although the money guy on the first bus paid the money guy on the second bus so we could travel on. Very honest - what would we have known.
In El Amatillo there were human vultures at the bus awaiting us. The driver waited until everyone was off the bus before he opened the baggage compartment, at which point we were swarmed with touts wanting us to take their tuk-tuks. We finally settled on one who gave us a price - the first said just a tip, yeah right - and then he drove us the two blocks to the immigration office. He waited there while we paid a little money to the El Salvador to get out, then went off with the tuk tuk driver, past the Honduran office and onto the minibus stop where we climbed in while our bags were tied on top.
The ride across Honduras took two hours, and it was very hot along the way. The travel thermometer read 38 at one point. At least the van windows were open. We both got the jump seats, which meant we were a little uncomfortable. But we weren´t being discriminated against, they were the last seats left which meant the bus got to leave.
In Guasale on the Honduran-Nicaragua border we got a pedi cab. A little guy sat on his bike seat in back and pedalled us sitting like queens in the front on a wicker seat as he took us first to the border crossing, where we got to pay more money to get into Nicaragua, then he pedalled us over the dirt road to the town of Guasale about 2 kilometers away where he dropped us off at the next minibus stop where again we left quite quickly as the seats were now full -but we got better seats.
Along the way into Chinandega we saw a smoking volcano called San Cristobal. We also saw sugar cane fields, - Nicaragua is famous for its rum made from the cane: Flor de Caña. There were cattle, sheep and pigs too. And I saw a cane truck with five trailers - just like a train, but on it´s own road thank heaven. The first km of the road were under construction so we didn´t make good time. All the bridges were being redone as well as the roads. It was a pleasure to make it to the real pavement. The last vehicle we got was a taxi in Chinandega to take us to our hotel. The most expensive part of the trip - the pedicab ride. Geordie felt guilty about the kid cycling us so gave him 12 dollars and a bag of Quesitos - Central American cheezies.
We managed to cahnge money at the border too, and when we got to Chinandega we found a bank that took Cirrus so we have Cordobas now and can have dinner. Too bad there are so few restaurants. We walked blocks and blocks and saw no place that could honestly call itself a restaurant. The closest was a place on the street that was frying potatoes and had some fried chicken ready. Well there was a place which uses steam tables, but it is recommened to eat there when the food is fresher - closer to mealtimes, and it was already after 2 pm when we made it.
So now we have to figure out where to have dinner. That should be fun. There are two restaurants listed on our guide, so we will have to look for them.
Oh, remember that I told you this was the safest place in Central America? Well as we were walking down the street, there were two women ahead of us. Suddenly a young man ran up to one of them, then grabbed her necklace from around her neck then ran off, while she reached up to her neck, yelled Puta - whore - and yelled. Then several people made after him while he jumped on his getaway vehicle - his friend was waiting in the street with a bike with those pegs that stick out for a passenger to stand on on the back wheel. We don´t know whether they caught him because we didn´t wait to find out. So much for safety. But hey, no one drew a gun. The place feels much safer than San Miguel did last night, though.
Think Chinandega will only merit one night. We are off to Leon tomorrow for a couple of days and then will head off looking for a nice beach place soon that we can hang out at again to watch the surfers.
In El Amatillo there were human vultures at the bus awaiting us. The driver waited until everyone was off the bus before he opened the baggage compartment, at which point we were swarmed with touts wanting us to take their tuk-tuks. We finally settled on one who gave us a price - the first said just a tip, yeah right - and then he drove us the two blocks to the immigration office. He waited there while we paid a little money to the El Salvador to get out, then went off with the tuk tuk driver, past the Honduran office and onto the minibus stop where we climbed in while our bags were tied on top.
The ride across Honduras took two hours, and it was very hot along the way. The travel thermometer read 38 at one point. At least the van windows were open. We both got the jump seats, which meant we were a little uncomfortable. But we weren´t being discriminated against, they were the last seats left which meant the bus got to leave.
In Guasale on the Honduran-Nicaragua border we got a pedi cab. A little guy sat on his bike seat in back and pedalled us sitting like queens in the front on a wicker seat as he took us first to the border crossing, where we got to pay more money to get into Nicaragua, then he pedalled us over the dirt road to the town of Guasale about 2 kilometers away where he dropped us off at the next minibus stop where again we left quite quickly as the seats were now full -but we got better seats.
Along the way into Chinandega we saw a smoking volcano called San Cristobal. We also saw sugar cane fields, - Nicaragua is famous for its rum made from the cane: Flor de Caña. There were cattle, sheep and pigs too. And I saw a cane truck with five trailers - just like a train, but on it´s own road thank heaven. The first km of the road were under construction so we didn´t make good time. All the bridges were being redone as well as the roads. It was a pleasure to make it to the real pavement. The last vehicle we got was a taxi in Chinandega to take us to our hotel. The most expensive part of the trip - the pedicab ride. Geordie felt guilty about the kid cycling us so gave him 12 dollars and a bag of Quesitos - Central American cheezies.
We managed to cahnge money at the border too, and when we got to Chinandega we found a bank that took Cirrus so we have Cordobas now and can have dinner. Too bad there are so few restaurants. We walked blocks and blocks and saw no place that could honestly call itself a restaurant. The closest was a place on the street that was frying potatoes and had some fried chicken ready. Well there was a place which uses steam tables, but it is recommened to eat there when the food is fresher - closer to mealtimes, and it was already after 2 pm when we made it.
So now we have to figure out where to have dinner. That should be fun. There are two restaurants listed on our guide, so we will have to look for them.
Oh, remember that I told you this was the safest place in Central America? Well as we were walking down the street, there were two women ahead of us. Suddenly a young man ran up to one of them, then grabbed her necklace from around her neck then ran off, while she reached up to her neck, yelled Puta - whore - and yelled. Then several people made after him while he jumped on his getaway vehicle - his friend was waiting in the street with a bike with those pegs that stick out for a passenger to stand on on the back wheel. We don´t know whether they caught him because we didn´t wait to find out. So much for safety. But hey, no one drew a gun. The place feels much safer than San Miguel did last night, though.
Think Chinandega will only merit one night. We are off to Leon tomorrow for a couple of days and then will head off looking for a nice beach place soon that we can hang out at again to watch the surfers.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
3 countries, 2 days - Day 1
We are on our way. Today was the easy part, we are still in El Salvador so really tomorrow is going to be 3 countries, 1 day, if everything works out. We got up at 7;30 and had breakfast by 8;15, then after paying our bill, we headed out to walk up the road (5 mintues) to the highway. Let´s see, the wait for the bus was maybe 3 minutes. That was easy.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
3 countries, 2 days - day 1
We are on our way. Today was the easy part, we are still in El Salvador so really tomorrow is going to be 3 countries, 1 day, if everything works out. We got up at 7;30 and had breakfast by 8;15, then after paying our bill, we headed out to walk up the road (5 mintues) to the highway. Let´s see, the wait for the bus was maybe 3 minutes. That was easy.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
3 countries, 2 days - day 1
We are on our way. Today was the easy part, we are still in El Salvador so really tomorrow is going to be 3 countries, 1 day, if everything works out. We got up at 7;30 and had breakfast by 8;15, then after paying our bill, we headed out to walk up the road (5 mintues) to the highway. Let´s see, the wait for the bus was maybe 3 minutes. That was easy.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
3 countries, 2 days - day 1
We are on our way. Today was the easy part, we are still in El Salvador so really tomorrow is going to be 3 countries, 1 day, if everything works out. We got up at 7;30 and had breakfast by 8;15, then after paying our bill, we headed out to walk up the road (5 mintues) to the highway. Let´s see, the wait for the bus was maybe 3 minutes. That was easy.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
We arrived in La Libertad, then walked up the street to the bus stop, 2 minutes. We had to wait a bit for the bus to fill up but when it did we headed off. The drive back to San Salvador took longer than we remembered but this time the driver didn´t pull any guy off his ladder. We had a little tour of San Salvador´s back streets, and then were dumped unceremoniously on some street near the bus station, but there was a taxi there waiting (15 secs transfer time.), so we just hopped in that and got whisked to the other bus station across town. There we got out, walked in to the entrance and were immediately met by a guy asking where we were going. And after 30 seconds we were on the bus to San Miguel - today´s destination. The bus left five minutes later. We were very lucky because this was the Super Especial - which cost 5 bucks per person for the 2 hour ride with air con and two violent movies to entertain the children. We arrived at the SM bus station at 1;15 or so. Total time travelling, 4 hours and 10 minutes, total time on our feet - 10o minutes and 45 seconds give or take a minute.
San Miguel is not a tourist destination we think. We walked through the crowds to the very crowded market, past the church which was closed. The market had lots of people trying to sell us pants and shirts. Better than in La Libertad where I decided I had better do some serious weight loss when the woman who accosted us tried to seel me a bra. A nice red bra, maybe it was Valentine´s Day come to think of it.
We had lunch at the Pollo Campero across the street from our hotel. We are also directly across the street from the bus station, very convenient. We could use the swimming pool while watching the buses depart - it´s directly across from the bus exit, so well situated. Pollo Campero is El Salvador´s answer to Kentucky Fried Chicken. Apparently El Salvadoreans returning to the US make Pollo Campero their last stop so they can bring some back to friends and family. It´s actually better than Kentucky Fried - not all those 11 herbs and spices making it taste funny. We liked it.
Now it´s back to our air con room - this town is very hot, I swear it´s at least 35 C out there - definitely over a 100 F. Our room also had a good view of the bus station so we are perfectly set. The town is aid to be dangerous after dark, especially the bus station area so we will just hang out here thank you and stay happily inour room till dinner time and then until breakfast time.
Tomorrow our plan is to get the bus to the border with Honduras, a minibus across to the Nicaragua border (about two hours) then another bus to Chinandega. If all goes well we will probably send our next message from there.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Playa El Tunco still
Today was the day we were going to move on, but a couple of days ago we convinced ourselves that we didn´t need to go anywhere. The Tortuga Surf Lodge is very small, only five rooms, but what a great group of people we´ve been hanging out with. Two of them turned out to be people we met at La Casa del Mundo on Lake Atitlan, and another two were a couple from Denmark. The last group is two guys from the US who are great to hang out with too.
It was nice to have the Danish couple, they turned out to be doctors which was great when I came down with a bad case of turista which had me hugging a toilet bowl at 2 am on our second day there. They were able to provide some good replacement drinks so I spent the next day drinking two liters of water mixed with the rehydration salts and feeling much better. I have no idea what caused the malady - the day it happened I´d had only breakfast, then a fresh coconut and for dinner only two ravioli, although by that time I was already feeling ill.
No matter, I´m great now. The reason for the odd meal that day was that Dean, one of the Americans invited us to join him on a tour of the area with a local guy who was his surf instructor. We went down to a couple of beach areas and then he asked if we wanted to go to a National Park nearby, which we agreed to. It turned out to be a hiking park, so with a guide leading us we were taken on a two kilometer tour, which went first to a natural cave with resident bats, then up a hill to a lovely viewpoint then down into a river basin and back to the start. The walk led through two totally different environments. On the first half, on the east side of the hill the trees were leafless and spare, very dry. These trees leave their leaves in the "summer" which is now in El Salvador. The other side of the hill is bright with lots of green vegetation and huge trees, which keep their leaves all year round. Very unique landscapes.
Last night we had a great meal at our place. Marko, the guy from Holland whom we´d met before, made a great barbecue with help from Dean. I got to fold the large foil dishes to roast the vegetables. We had local sausages and some deep dark tuna which Marco had bought in the market that day - two huge fish for five dollars each plus a dollar for cleaning them. Quite the deal. He made the barbecue sauce for the fish with lots of garlic, ginger, soy and olive oil and a lashing or two of Marie Sharpe´s BEWARE hot sauce which contains a warning not to use it to play tricks on the weak or elderly. Delicioso.
So we have decided to hang on here for a few more days. There´s no rush. Marco and Anna, Dean and Gordon leave on Sunday and Monday, the Danes left this morning, so we will have to expect new guests to arrive to entertain us. So far we are the only non surfers around. This is a great surfing beach and there are lots of young guys and women with incredibly toned and tanned bodies hanging out waiting for the next great wave, so we expect to see the three couples replaced very quickly. Let´s hope they are as much fun to hang out with.
As you can see there´s not much to write about. We are still lazing around the pool, eating fish, sleeping, reading - what else do we need?
It was nice to have the Danish couple, they turned out to be doctors which was great when I came down with a bad case of turista which had me hugging a toilet bowl at 2 am on our second day there. They were able to provide some good replacement drinks so I spent the next day drinking two liters of water mixed with the rehydration salts and feeling much better. I have no idea what caused the malady - the day it happened I´d had only breakfast, then a fresh coconut and for dinner only two ravioli, although by that time I was already feeling ill.
No matter, I´m great now. The reason for the odd meal that day was that Dean, one of the Americans invited us to join him on a tour of the area with a local guy who was his surf instructor. We went down to a couple of beach areas and then he asked if we wanted to go to a National Park nearby, which we agreed to. It turned out to be a hiking park, so with a guide leading us we were taken on a two kilometer tour, which went first to a natural cave with resident bats, then up a hill to a lovely viewpoint then down into a river basin and back to the start. The walk led through two totally different environments. On the first half, on the east side of the hill the trees were leafless and spare, very dry. These trees leave their leaves in the "summer" which is now in El Salvador. The other side of the hill is bright with lots of green vegetation and huge trees, which keep their leaves all year round. Very unique landscapes.
Last night we had a great meal at our place. Marko, the guy from Holland whom we´d met before, made a great barbecue with help from Dean. I got to fold the large foil dishes to roast the vegetables. We had local sausages and some deep dark tuna which Marco had bought in the market that day - two huge fish for five dollars each plus a dollar for cleaning them. Quite the deal. He made the barbecue sauce for the fish with lots of garlic, ginger, soy and olive oil and a lashing or two of Marie Sharpe´s BEWARE hot sauce which contains a warning not to use it to play tricks on the weak or elderly. Delicioso.
So we have decided to hang on here for a few more days. There´s no rush. Marco and Anna, Dean and Gordon leave on Sunday and Monday, the Danes left this morning, so we will have to expect new guests to arrive to entertain us. So far we are the only non surfers around. This is a great surfing beach and there are lots of young guys and women with incredibly toned and tanned bodies hanging out waiting for the next great wave, so we expect to see the three couples replaced very quickly. Let´s hope they are as much fun to hang out with.
As you can see there´s not much to write about. We are still lazing around the pool, eating fish, sleeping, reading - what else do we need?
Monday, February 09, 2009
Playa El Tunco - by bus
We were on the move today. Four buses! We left Juayua at 8:30 am for the first trek to Sonsonate, about an hour. Then we waited about a half hour for a non-existent bus to San Salvador. Well the sign in the terminal had the right number and the right destination, but no buses came, and since they are supposed to be every 10 minutes, I finally figured out that there must be a problem and asked the young woman sitting next to me at the bus stop if she was awaiting the same bus. Oh, no, the bus was somewhere over there, outside the terminal.
We walked over to the street, saw no sign of a bus, but then I caught sight of another fancy building. Checked it out and discovered it was the special terminal for buses to San Salvador only. Duh! That wasn´t in the guide book. So we arrived across the street and there was a bus just loading - an especial which costs more and is theoretically safer because it doesn´t stop to pick up fares. (Hah! It did so.) But it was air conditioned and there was a seat for each of us, no sharing tiny school bus seats.
The ride to San Salvador took an hour and a half and pulled into the terminal Occidente. Luckily this is where we were to catch our next bus although the guide book said we had to go outside the front of the building to catch it. We did that, and saw no evidence of our bus, so asked someone this time, who directed us across the street and up, next to that girl with the pink shirt. We were also told it was bus 22 not 102, but in fact the 102 pulled up and we all got on to go to La Libertad. That trip took about 40 minutes - not bad, although it was getting hotter now. About half way there we could already see the ocean. Yay!
In La Libertad we got out, walked down the street, around the corner and found the bus to the beaches. We had to get on through the back emergency door, because there were too many people at the front for us to manage with. No problem. This bus took only about 15 minutes to get us to Playa El Tunco, our destination, and a little walk down towards the beach, and a side street and we were at Tortuga Surf Lodge and our nice little room on the second floor, bathroom outside the door, but private, and a big terrace with two tables and a hammock and no other rooms so I guess we can choose the table we want.
Entire length of journey: 4 hours. No of buses: 4, price: $5.40 for two people. Not bad.
Now we are going to hang out for awhile. Not much to do I don´t think, except sun, swim in the pool, maybe paddle in the ocean, (there are lots of surfers here, so may not be a good swimming beach) eat fish, sleep, relax, enjoy the air con room. Veg out.
mmmm, sounds nice.
We walked over to the street, saw no sign of a bus, but then I caught sight of another fancy building. Checked it out and discovered it was the special terminal for buses to San Salvador only. Duh! That wasn´t in the guide book. So we arrived across the street and there was a bus just loading - an especial which costs more and is theoretically safer because it doesn´t stop to pick up fares. (Hah! It did so.) But it was air conditioned and there was a seat for each of us, no sharing tiny school bus seats.
The ride to San Salvador took an hour and a half and pulled into the terminal Occidente. Luckily this is where we were to catch our next bus although the guide book said we had to go outside the front of the building to catch it. We did that, and saw no evidence of our bus, so asked someone this time, who directed us across the street and up, next to that girl with the pink shirt. We were also told it was bus 22 not 102, but in fact the 102 pulled up and we all got on to go to La Libertad. That trip took about 40 minutes - not bad, although it was getting hotter now. About half way there we could already see the ocean. Yay!
In La Libertad we got out, walked down the street, around the corner and found the bus to the beaches. We had to get on through the back emergency door, because there were too many people at the front for us to manage with. No problem. This bus took only about 15 minutes to get us to Playa El Tunco, our destination, and a little walk down towards the beach, and a side street and we were at Tortuga Surf Lodge and our nice little room on the second floor, bathroom outside the door, but private, and a big terrace with two tables and a hammock and no other rooms so I guess we can choose the table we want.
Entire length of journey: 4 hours. No of buses: 4, price: $5.40 for two people. Not bad.
Now we are going to hang out for awhile. Not much to do I don´t think, except sun, swim in the pool, maybe paddle in the ocean, (there are lots of surfers here, so may not be a good swimming beach) eat fish, sleep, relax, enjoy the air con room. Veg out.
mmmm, sounds nice.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Juayua
Yesterday we took a bus to the town of Ahuachapan on the way to Ataco, a little village up in the mountains. It{s the first village on the Ruta de las Flores and is a lovely ride up into the mountains. The fare for the entire trip (2 and a half hours) was $2.80 cents. All the bus connections were fine and we didn{t have any waiting around. The buses go constantly - every 10 minutes or so. Amazing. In Ahuachapan we were let off in the very busy market and had to walk through the closed in aisles to find the terminal on the other side. But there was the bus to Ataco and off we went.
Ataco is quite small and although there were several hotels listed we went first out to the highway to a place recommended out of town. But we didn{t like the idea of walking back to there in the dark after eating so we decided not to stay. Back in town we saw a sign for The hotel El Balcon de Ataco so walked up there - up a quite steep hill, where we found a quite nice room with an amazing view of the town and the surrounding mountains. Of course it meant that every time we left we had to go back up hill to get home.
The town had very little going on. We couldn{t find any of the other hotels listed, and none of the restaurants - although we did manage to find a place to eat. It was a "fusion" restaurant and we had a huge bowl of cream of tomato soup full of oregano leaves - way too many oregano leaves. A little too much. But the place was very nice - we sat out in the breezy garden amongst the flowers to enjoy our meal. Walked around town - the people were friendly, saying Buenas tardes (good afternoon), but there ain{t much to do.
We did find a gem of a place - a real coffee shop with delicious coffee well made from local Salvadorean coffee beans. This is coffee country with coffee fincas up the hillsides, all of it shade grown and maybe it{s even organic. We had a lovely orange cake with it, sprinkled with lime peel. Delcioso.
Supper was at the same place we had lunch because the other place we had found was closed for dinner. This time Geordie had pork marinated in red wine and herbs served with mashed potatoes while I had beef in a pineapple sauce served with ratatouille and little tiny potatoes about the diameter of a nickel. Lovely flavours.
This morning we got up latish after watching Spanish TV news (from Spain I mean). Lots of snow in northern Spain I guess. I hope Giorgio and Bertrand in Torremolinos don{t have it too cold. We went out with our packs and stopped at the restaurant that was closed last night. The woman who greeted us mentioned something about breakfast, I said si and the next thing we knew we had ordered it. I really have a hard time understanding El Salvadorean Spanish, so we get things we hadn{t planned for because I say si as if I understood. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with tomato, cheese, fried bananas and refried beans witha nice bread bun and coffee and only cost $3.25 each so I guess we can{t complain.
We had lots of help at the bus stop where we waited for the bus to Juayua. And when the bus arrived we were pointed to it right away. People are really very friendly. (Oh and I didn{t see anyone with a gun anywhere in town.) Our bus ride was lovely only a half hour but on a beautiful road with checkerboard coffee plantations going up the hillsides of the volcanoes. There was a long line of these lovely young volcanoes along the way and they surround the town of Juayua. There are at least eight of them I{m sure. Some of them are very pointy.
Juayua is very busy on weekends. It{s a gastronomes dream come true because they have a weekend long Gastronomic fair. The area around the square and the church and for several blocks radiating out are food stalls with hot food of all kinds. Chicken in Chicha, roast beef on the grill, argentinian ribs, tacos, pupusas (stuffed corn tortillas), roast rabbit, even frogs legs! It{s an amazing experience. WE walked around and around to decide, and finally chose the argentinian ribs with salad, roast green onions, and rice. It was tasty. Tonight maybe we{ll have rabbit or frogs!
This keyboard is exhausting my fingers. the keys stick like crazy and you may have noticed the odd apostrophes. Time to hit send.
Ataco is quite small and although there were several hotels listed we went first out to the highway to a place recommended out of town. But we didn{t like the idea of walking back to there in the dark after eating so we decided not to stay. Back in town we saw a sign for The hotel El Balcon de Ataco so walked up there - up a quite steep hill, where we found a quite nice room with an amazing view of the town and the surrounding mountains. Of course it meant that every time we left we had to go back up hill to get home.
The town had very little going on. We couldn{t find any of the other hotels listed, and none of the restaurants - although we did manage to find a place to eat. It was a "fusion" restaurant and we had a huge bowl of cream of tomato soup full of oregano leaves - way too many oregano leaves. A little too much. But the place was very nice - we sat out in the breezy garden amongst the flowers to enjoy our meal. Walked around town - the people were friendly, saying Buenas tardes (good afternoon), but there ain{t much to do.
We did find a gem of a place - a real coffee shop with delicious coffee well made from local Salvadorean coffee beans. This is coffee country with coffee fincas up the hillsides, all of it shade grown and maybe it{s even organic. We had a lovely orange cake with it, sprinkled with lime peel. Delcioso.
Supper was at the same place we had lunch because the other place we had found was closed for dinner. This time Geordie had pork marinated in red wine and herbs served with mashed potatoes while I had beef in a pineapple sauce served with ratatouille and little tiny potatoes about the diameter of a nickel. Lovely flavours.
This morning we got up latish after watching Spanish TV news (from Spain I mean). Lots of snow in northern Spain I guess. I hope Giorgio and Bertrand in Torremolinos don{t have it too cold. We went out with our packs and stopped at the restaurant that was closed last night. The woman who greeted us mentioned something about breakfast, I said si and the next thing we knew we had ordered it. I really have a hard time understanding El Salvadorean Spanish, so we get things we hadn{t planned for because I say si as if I understood. Breakfast was scrambled eggs with tomato, cheese, fried bananas and refried beans witha nice bread bun and coffee and only cost $3.25 each so I guess we can{t complain.
We had lots of help at the bus stop where we waited for the bus to Juayua. And when the bus arrived we were pointed to it right away. People are really very friendly. (Oh and I didn{t see anyone with a gun anywhere in town.) Our bus ride was lovely only a half hour but on a beautiful road with checkerboard coffee plantations going up the hillsides of the volcanoes. There was a long line of these lovely young volcanoes along the way and they surround the town of Juayua. There are at least eight of them I{m sure. Some of them are very pointy.
Juayua is very busy on weekends. It{s a gastronomes dream come true because they have a weekend long Gastronomic fair. The area around the square and the church and for several blocks radiating out are food stalls with hot food of all kinds. Chicken in Chicha, roast beef on the grill, argentinian ribs, tacos, pupusas (stuffed corn tortillas), roast rabbit, even frogs legs! It{s an amazing experience. WE walked around and around to decide, and finally chose the argentinian ribs with salad, roast green onions, and rice. It was tasty. Tonight maybe we{ll have rabbit or frogs!
This keyboard is exhausting my fingers. the keys stick like crazy and you may have noticed the odd apostrophes. Time to hit send.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
San Salvador
We left Suchitoto this morning. Sad. We had made friends with some of the locals. The transportation was a Blue Bird school bus from Brampton, Ontario. When their life span is over in Canada they are sold to Latin America! The seat was not wide enough for both of us so half of my bum was over air. We were supposed to continue traveling west to the highlands and probably cold weather but I suggested as we neared San Salvador than we could stay in the big, bad city for a night. So taxi to the Zona Rosa area (upscale) and a small boutique hotel for more money than we have paid on this trip.
I have to go to the bathroom now so Nigel will continue.
San Salvador is described as dangerous, but the Zona Rosa seems safe enough. The fact that every business seems to have an armed guard may explain that. Our hotel has a guy with a shotgun, but he also does the sweeping out front and opens the door for us. Might as well be useful. After we arrived we were a little peckish so went across the street to an Argentinian place for an empanada which was delicioso. The door had to be unlocked by the armed guard of course, so we felt quite safe there too.
The main reason we chose this hotel is because it is so near the important museums. After we arrived we walked uphill past the Sheraton to the Museum of Modern Art which is very large and displays in its four salas, a retrospective of Salvadorean art from the early 20th century to very recent times. I can´t remember the names of any of the artists, but there was some fine work which I would be glad to see hanging on the walls of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Of course we didn´t stay that long - it´s not so hard to go through four rooms of art if you´re just looking.
We had lunch after our art foray at a little French bakery (we´re going international here), and supper tonight was at a place called Baselia (after the city of Basel in Switzerland) where Geordie had Italian pizza. I had fish - a little more local.
After lunch we went directly to the Museum of Anthropology which has much the same stuff as any good Latin American museum - lots of precolumbian art and pottery, displays on pyramids and other ruins, a display of artisanal work, and a religious section which included precolumbian, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Jewish artifacts. It was worth the $3.00 price -glad it wasn´t expensive like the museum at Copan Ruinas, which cost $15.00 per person.
Tomorrow we are off to the highlands where we will probably be too cold again. We are going to stay in Ataco for one night and then two nights in Juayua (Why-you-Ah) which is famous for it´s food fair on weekends. And we will be there for Saturday and Sunday nights. Then it´s off to the beach and too much heat there I think. It´s been quite windy the last few days, in Suchitoto and here.
Apparently it was even more windyon the Pacific coast. We met a group of four women who were sitting at a table near us in Suchitoto who sounded awfully Canadian. When we talked to them, it turned out they were all from Qualicum Beach, and one of them owned a hotel on one of the beaches down there and had heard about the winds.
I have to go to the bathroom now so Nigel will continue.
San Salvador is described as dangerous, but the Zona Rosa seems safe enough. The fact that every business seems to have an armed guard may explain that. Our hotel has a guy with a shotgun, but he also does the sweeping out front and opens the door for us. Might as well be useful. After we arrived we were a little peckish so went across the street to an Argentinian place for an empanada which was delicioso. The door had to be unlocked by the armed guard of course, so we felt quite safe there too.
The main reason we chose this hotel is because it is so near the important museums. After we arrived we walked uphill past the Sheraton to the Museum of Modern Art which is very large and displays in its four salas, a retrospective of Salvadorean art from the early 20th century to very recent times. I can´t remember the names of any of the artists, but there was some fine work which I would be glad to see hanging on the walls of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Of course we didn´t stay that long - it´s not so hard to go through four rooms of art if you´re just looking.
We had lunch after our art foray at a little French bakery (we´re going international here), and supper tonight was at a place called Baselia (after the city of Basel in Switzerland) where Geordie had Italian pizza. I had fish - a little more local.
After lunch we went directly to the Museum of Anthropology which has much the same stuff as any good Latin American museum - lots of precolumbian art and pottery, displays on pyramids and other ruins, a display of artisanal work, and a religious section which included precolumbian, Roman Catholic, Protestant and Jewish artifacts. It was worth the $3.00 price -glad it wasn´t expensive like the museum at Copan Ruinas, which cost $15.00 per person.
Tomorrow we are off to the highlands where we will probably be too cold again. We are going to stay in Ataco for one night and then two nights in Juayua (Why-you-Ah) which is famous for it´s food fair on weekends. And we will be there for Saturday and Sunday nights. Then it´s off to the beach and too much heat there I think. It´s been quite windy the last few days, in Suchitoto and here.
Apparently it was even more windyon the Pacific coast. We met a group of four women who were sitting at a table near us in Suchitoto who sounded awfully Canadian. When we talked to them, it turned out they were all from Qualicum Beach, and one of them owned a hotel on one of the beaches down there and had heard about the winds.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Ya Suchitoto (Still Suchitoto)
Oh, we just can´t get up and leave. Suchitoto may be hot, but we are not really in the pink of health so today we moved hotels - more expensive yes, but with two beds so we don´t have to worry about disturbing each other as we toss and turn. The woman who checked us in bargained us into a fancy room with two beds, with a deal for two nights. And there is air conditioning and cable (not that we will watch it since there is probably no English language station).
I have developed a bit of turista so need to be close to a decent bathroom too. As a matter of fact the turista developed after a meal at the hotel we just moved from - bad chicken? It was the special of the weekend - one would think it ok. Anyway, Suchitoto is pretty, and we have enjoyed sitting in the square - last night it was lovely and breezy there after the sun went down.
We ate at an expensive hotel a couple of blocks from the square - quite an impressive place with lovely stonework, lots of greenery, and down at the bottom of the property a nice pool to admire. There even seemed to be other guests - we do feel like the only tourists most of the time. We are even being recognized by the locals now as we sit in the square for a nice coffee at a little cafe under the portales.
We have not yet decided what to do after this. We may go to San Salvador for a couple of nights, but really the guide book says it´s a little dangerous. So is Santa Ana, and Sonsonate, all places we will have to pass through to get to the safer villages. We don´t know what unsafe means, but even here yesterday, when the guy who delivers the cigarettes came to the square to do a delivery, he was accompanied by two armed guards. One went into the shop with him while the other stood guard at the truck. I guess there are reasons for that.
The currency here is the American dollar so we can tell what kind of value we are getting for our money. Geordie´s coffee this morning was only 30 cents, but a bagel and egg sandwich in this cafe is $2.50. And our toast, jam, coffee and juice this morning were $3.00 each. Our new room is $36.00, so expensive, but it´s nice to have the comforts.
I have developed a bit of turista so need to be close to a decent bathroom too. As a matter of fact the turista developed after a meal at the hotel we just moved from - bad chicken? It was the special of the weekend - one would think it ok. Anyway, Suchitoto is pretty, and we have enjoyed sitting in the square - last night it was lovely and breezy there after the sun went down.
We ate at an expensive hotel a couple of blocks from the square - quite an impressive place with lovely stonework, lots of greenery, and down at the bottom of the property a nice pool to admire. There even seemed to be other guests - we do feel like the only tourists most of the time. We are even being recognized by the locals now as we sit in the square for a nice coffee at a little cafe under the portales.
We have not yet decided what to do after this. We may go to San Salvador for a couple of nights, but really the guide book says it´s a little dangerous. So is Santa Ana, and Sonsonate, all places we will have to pass through to get to the safer villages. We don´t know what unsafe means, but even here yesterday, when the guy who delivers the cigarettes came to the square to do a delivery, he was accompanied by two armed guards. One went into the shop with him while the other stood guard at the truck. I guess there are reasons for that.
The currency here is the American dollar so we can tell what kind of value we are getting for our money. Geordie´s coffee this morning was only 30 cents, but a bagel and egg sandwich in this cafe is $2.50. And our toast, jam, coffee and juice this morning were $3.00 each. Our new room is $36.00, so expensive, but it´s nice to have the comforts.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Suchitoto
We made it to El Salvador - this is a first for us since we had visited Guatemala and Honduras before, and so far things are very nice. We were cold in Santa Rosa de Copan even with our nice room and the comfortable beds - I didn´t find the extra blankets until we were getting ready to leave, but we managed without them.
After our "tipico" breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans, cheese and plantains, we had the woman of the B and B help us get a taxi which consisted of her taking us into the street and hailing a cab then negotiating the rate - only 24 lempira instead of the 40 we paid to get to her place. We got to the bus station about 8:15 but learned that the next bus to the border at Nueva Ocotepque would not be along until 9 or 9:30 so we settled in at the restaurant to read and wait. I had some of the worst coffee ever, god knows what they made it with - but certainly not the prime coffee they export. There were two other tourists in the restaurant waiting - two young men from Sweden whose packs were about three times bigger than ours. Ah, the young. They do need educating.
The bus arrived at 9:45, even later than expected but we were helped on and our bags stowed beneath because this was a real bus, not some old school bus converted to people carrier. The drive to Ocotopeque lasted over two hours, though spectacular mountain scenery, along twisting turning roads with only a couple of areas of avalanche (there had been more on the trip to Santa Rosa). The mountains are very numerous, if that´s not an odd thing to say. And sometimes the views into the valleys were dizzying.
We made it to Ocotepeque without incident and then were taken in hand by another passenger, a younger man who led us to the little shuttle that would take us to the border. And that was really easy to cross. We didn´t even have to check in with Honduras authorities, just walk up to the El Salvadorean guy, hand him our passport and then continue walking into the village of El Poy and the next bus station. The guy chatted us up as he went and we soon learned that he had lived in LA for a while, as an illegal alien, and then a year and a half in prison for drugs and could no longer go to the states, since he was no longer welcome there. My, my... We also asked him what he did in San Salvador where he was living and the answer was "Nothing". He didn´t need to work because other family were living and working in the states and sent money home so he didn´t need to work. A different view of how the leisure class developed...
The bus towards San Salvador, the capital of the country, left about 15 minutes after we arrived at the dirt lot where it was waiting. Here the buses are actually numbered and ply routes like they were city buses. No 119 was going all the way to the capital but we wanted to get off and transfer at a town called Aguilares, so depended on the bus conductor to let us know. As we left El Poy we started to take on more passengers - and yes this bus was a converted school bus, with an engine that needed a little work. But we didn´t have to share our kiddy seats with anyone else, even though the aisle of the bus filled up with passengers as we went. They actually cleared out after awhile and even though there were still standing passengers there weren´t that many.
As we passed though the town of La Palma we were very impressed with the decorations they have put on every building and even every light pole and electrical pole along the way. An artist (last name Llort) started painting in this primitive style then taught the villagers so that now every one paints everything, and they sell their wares around the country. The style is simple, with bright bold colours, depicting birds, village houses, animals, mountains, saints, village women. The electrical poles are painte up about 7 feet - as high as they can reach, and it is very charming. All the poles were decorated even a few kilometers outside the village, but when we passed out of their reach, the poles were still painted but only the colours of the flag with a political parties initials. Not nearly so pretty.
Again this drive was wonderful and we could see far ahead and below miles and miles away a huge lake, which we knew we were heading to. At Aguilaries we alighted and then asked a number of people where we would get the bus to Suchitoto and got a number of different answers. We decided we would walk the half kilometer to the intersection and wait there. It had gotten very very hot by this time - not at all like Santa Rosa. We waited under a tree with two women who were dressed much like ladies of the night, although they may have been ordinary citizens. After about 10 minutes a truck came by and picked up the two women and then the two guys in the truck asked if we wanted to climb in the back of the truck with the dogs since they were going through Suchitoto to their own destination. Of course we know all about accepting rides from strangers, but hey they were going to Suchitoto so we hopped in the back and joined the two scared looking dogs there. After a few minutes the women were dropped off at someone´s house so we got invited into the back seat of the truck which had delicious air conditioning. One of the guys turned out to be a Salvadorean who had just arrived recently from Chicago - he was there during the inauguration of Obama and talked about the excitement there. Don´t know if he was deported too.
So we arrived in Suchitoto in some style. We were let off at a service station and walked a couple of blocks uphill till we came to a little square. We wondered if it was the main square although it seemed a little less than busy, but since we were hot, we sat down in the shade of a building and rested. A mnute later three Tourist police bicycled by and a few minutes after that another one came out of a building nearby and introduced himself to us. He was very friendly, and asked all about us, where we were from, where we were going, welcomed us to El Salvador and then told us how to get to the real main square which was about five blocks away.
We made it there, and of course it was much busier than our little plaza with shops, restaurants, lots of people and even a little artisanal fair going on, since it was Sunday. Oh, wait, first we were met by a woman who wanted to show us her hotel, so dragged us about three blocks away. Her place was ok, with nice big rooms, but there was only one paltry little fan and we thought we would be uncomfortable so said no, even though she really really wanted us to stay. It would have only cost 14 dollars but...
So at the square we made for another hotel, where we looked at some tiny rooms, and even though the other woman´s place was probably better, took it because it had airconditioning. A blessed relief. The bed nearly fills the room but is only a double so we really were obviously desperate for air con. The bed is also very soft and squooshy, feels a bit like a water bed and the sheets slide off. But it has air con...and we used it. Today we almost decided to go to the other woman´s place since we had disappointed her so and the room was so much bigger, but air con won out again.ç
The square was quite busy yesterday since it was a weekend. The little stalls are sponsored by the town council and have the motto: "No solo a ciudad...una feria artesanal" or Not ony a city, but an artisan´s fair! The city fathers are obviously proud of the work they are doing to promote their city and the place is very clean too. And those tourist police.... Nice place. The buildings are all colonial in style with white adobe walls and roof beams that stick out with the tiled roofs extending to give some shade. There is also a lot of ornamental iron work decorating the doors and windows - seems they have that to beautify their homes rather than the painted walls of La Palma.
Today we walked out towards the lake and found a couple of places with stupendous views. The first was on the right side of the road and had a wonderful pool we could use, if we wanted, as well as a nice cool restaurant with lots of fans. The view there was of the lake far below and the distant hills. We had a cool drink there and then went a little further down the road to a restaurant on the other side of the road, and damned if they didn´t have a view of the lake too. Seems the hill we are on is between arms of the lake so both places can provide some beautiful scenery while one eats or drinks.
We´ve had a little nap now, in our cool air con place, and are out again in the heat. I´ll finish this off and call Geordie in to read it. In the meantime, thanks to the people who responded to our last message, It´s nice to get news from home and abroad, And you don´t have to worry about writing because of expense. Internet here is really cheap, probably a dollar an hour so we can afford to read your messages.
Take care all, and you´ll be hearing from us. We may well go into San Salvador tomorrow or the next day and then go out to travel towards La Ruta de las Flores, the route of the flowers to see some of the lovely villages along there before we head to the heat of the coast and some ocean breezes. Let´s hope the breezes are enough, although no doubt a little air con will be available. It had better be.
After our "tipico" breakfast of scrambled eggs, beans, cheese and plantains, we had the woman of the B and B help us get a taxi which consisted of her taking us into the street and hailing a cab then negotiating the rate - only 24 lempira instead of the 40 we paid to get to her place. We got to the bus station about 8:15 but learned that the next bus to the border at Nueva Ocotepque would not be along until 9 or 9:30 so we settled in at the restaurant to read and wait. I had some of the worst coffee ever, god knows what they made it with - but certainly not the prime coffee they export. There were two other tourists in the restaurant waiting - two young men from Sweden whose packs were about three times bigger than ours. Ah, the young. They do need educating.
The bus arrived at 9:45, even later than expected but we were helped on and our bags stowed beneath because this was a real bus, not some old school bus converted to people carrier. The drive to Ocotopeque lasted over two hours, though spectacular mountain scenery, along twisting turning roads with only a couple of areas of avalanche (there had been more on the trip to Santa Rosa). The mountains are very numerous, if that´s not an odd thing to say. And sometimes the views into the valleys were dizzying.
We made it to Ocotepeque without incident and then were taken in hand by another passenger, a younger man who led us to the little shuttle that would take us to the border. And that was really easy to cross. We didn´t even have to check in with Honduras authorities, just walk up to the El Salvadorean guy, hand him our passport and then continue walking into the village of El Poy and the next bus station. The guy chatted us up as he went and we soon learned that he had lived in LA for a while, as an illegal alien, and then a year and a half in prison for drugs and could no longer go to the states, since he was no longer welcome there. My, my... We also asked him what he did in San Salvador where he was living and the answer was "Nothing". He didn´t need to work because other family were living and working in the states and sent money home so he didn´t need to work. A different view of how the leisure class developed...
The bus towards San Salvador, the capital of the country, left about 15 minutes after we arrived at the dirt lot where it was waiting. Here the buses are actually numbered and ply routes like they were city buses. No 119 was going all the way to the capital but we wanted to get off and transfer at a town called Aguilares, so depended on the bus conductor to let us know. As we left El Poy we started to take on more passengers - and yes this bus was a converted school bus, with an engine that needed a little work. But we didn´t have to share our kiddy seats with anyone else, even though the aisle of the bus filled up with passengers as we went. They actually cleared out after awhile and even though there were still standing passengers there weren´t that many.
As we passed though the town of La Palma we were very impressed with the decorations they have put on every building and even every light pole and electrical pole along the way. An artist (last name Llort) started painting in this primitive style then taught the villagers so that now every one paints everything, and they sell their wares around the country. The style is simple, with bright bold colours, depicting birds, village houses, animals, mountains, saints, village women. The electrical poles are painte up about 7 feet - as high as they can reach, and it is very charming. All the poles were decorated even a few kilometers outside the village, but when we passed out of their reach, the poles were still painted but only the colours of the flag with a political parties initials. Not nearly so pretty.
Again this drive was wonderful and we could see far ahead and below miles and miles away a huge lake, which we knew we were heading to. At Aguilaries we alighted and then asked a number of people where we would get the bus to Suchitoto and got a number of different answers. We decided we would walk the half kilometer to the intersection and wait there. It had gotten very very hot by this time - not at all like Santa Rosa. We waited under a tree with two women who were dressed much like ladies of the night, although they may have been ordinary citizens. After about 10 minutes a truck came by and picked up the two women and then the two guys in the truck asked if we wanted to climb in the back of the truck with the dogs since they were going through Suchitoto to their own destination. Of course we know all about accepting rides from strangers, but hey they were going to Suchitoto so we hopped in the back and joined the two scared looking dogs there. After a few minutes the women were dropped off at someone´s house so we got invited into the back seat of the truck which had delicious air conditioning. One of the guys turned out to be a Salvadorean who had just arrived recently from Chicago - he was there during the inauguration of Obama and talked about the excitement there. Don´t know if he was deported too.
So we arrived in Suchitoto in some style. We were let off at a service station and walked a couple of blocks uphill till we came to a little square. We wondered if it was the main square although it seemed a little less than busy, but since we were hot, we sat down in the shade of a building and rested. A mnute later three Tourist police bicycled by and a few minutes after that another one came out of a building nearby and introduced himself to us. He was very friendly, and asked all about us, where we were from, where we were going, welcomed us to El Salvador and then told us how to get to the real main square which was about five blocks away.
We made it there, and of course it was much busier than our little plaza with shops, restaurants, lots of people and even a little artisanal fair going on, since it was Sunday. Oh, wait, first we were met by a woman who wanted to show us her hotel, so dragged us about three blocks away. Her place was ok, with nice big rooms, but there was only one paltry little fan and we thought we would be uncomfortable so said no, even though she really really wanted us to stay. It would have only cost 14 dollars but...
So at the square we made for another hotel, where we looked at some tiny rooms, and even though the other woman´s place was probably better, took it because it had airconditioning. A blessed relief. The bed nearly fills the room but is only a double so we really were obviously desperate for air con. The bed is also very soft and squooshy, feels a bit like a water bed and the sheets slide off. But it has air con...and we used it. Today we almost decided to go to the other woman´s place since we had disappointed her so and the room was so much bigger, but air con won out again.ç
The square was quite busy yesterday since it was a weekend. The little stalls are sponsored by the town council and have the motto: "No solo a ciudad...una feria artesanal" or Not ony a city, but an artisan´s fair! The city fathers are obviously proud of the work they are doing to promote their city and the place is very clean too. And those tourist police.... Nice place. The buildings are all colonial in style with white adobe walls and roof beams that stick out with the tiled roofs extending to give some shade. There is also a lot of ornamental iron work decorating the doors and windows - seems they have that to beautify their homes rather than the painted walls of La Palma.
Today we walked out towards the lake and found a couple of places with stupendous views. The first was on the right side of the road and had a wonderful pool we could use, if we wanted, as well as a nice cool restaurant with lots of fans. The view there was of the lake far below and the distant hills. We had a cool drink there and then went a little further down the road to a restaurant on the other side of the road, and damned if they didn´t have a view of the lake too. Seems the hill we are on is between arms of the lake so both places can provide some beautiful scenery while one eats or drinks.
We´ve had a little nap now, in our cool air con place, and are out again in the heat. I´ll finish this off and call Geordie in to read it. In the meantime, thanks to the people who responded to our last message, It´s nice to get news from home and abroad, And you don´t have to worry about writing because of expense. Internet here is really cheap, probably a dollar an hour so we can afford to read your messages.
Take care all, and you´ll be hearing from us. We may well go into San Salvador tomorrow or the next day and then go out to travel towards La Ruta de las Flores, the route of the flowers to see some of the lovely villages along there before we head to the heat of the coast and some ocean breezes. Let´s hope the breezes are enough, although no doubt a little air con will be available. It had better be.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Santa Rosa de Copan
It´s cool here in Santa Rosa. We are spending time in the internet to help pass the time because there ain´t much to do. We arrived here about 10:30 am after an easy two bus rides from Copan, quicker than we thought. The first ride was in a colectivo van, nice and new, and only as many people as there were seats. Geordie was directed to a seat in the back but made me tell the guy in Spanish that he would ¨vomitar¨if he sat there, so they let him sit up front with the driver instead.
We left at 8;20 and were in La Entrada at 9:50 am where we were dropped off at the madhouse of a bus field (not quite a terminal although they called it that). We had competing offers for buses to Santa Rosa, each claiming to be the faster - we were practically being dragged to the buses. We hesitated though and after almost going on the old school bus, opted for the more "modern" but equally old highway bus. And guess what, it was the one which left first and didn´t stop at every corner for passengers. Looks like we lucked out for a change. It was almost comfortable except for the broken arm rest - and Geordie wasn´t happy with the woman standing up next to him rubbing her thigh against his leg. She only had two fingers on her left hand and was not a young ducky, so he may have misinterpreted her intentions. Well, he says she wasn´t even aware of it. The bus was full and had standees from the back to almost the front of the bus. We haven´t travelled like this in ages. Ah, the good old days.
In Santa Rosa we took a taxi up to a hotel that was recommended in Lonely Planet. The ride cost more than the trip from La Entrada for one person. Maybe they saw the gringos coming. The hotel is actually a B and B with only four rooms and is a converted house. Quite pleasant, with big large beds which are comfortable, a living room where we can sit and read and we have ordered breakfast tomorrow for 7:30. We had first ordered it for 8:30 but after a walk around town, realized that we didn´t need to stay any longer so could get on our way early. We did a little walk up to the central park and beyond, looking for a pizza place that came well recommended. That´s where we are going to eat, sorry all you foodies. For lunch though we had roasted chicken, Peruvian style -which brought back memories of some of the small towns we stopped at in Peru where roast chicken was the most easily found food. Tasty, and the french fries were good, made with real potatoes and fried a la minute.
Tomorrow we are off to El Salvador. We have to catch a bus to the border town from here, and then a bus to the Honduran border, do the formalities, then walk to the El Salvador border and a bus from there into El Salvador itself. We will probably change buses somewhere off there to get to the town we are heading to, if we manage to get all that done right. We´ll find a bed somewhere anyway.
We left at 8;20 and were in La Entrada at 9:50 am where we were dropped off at the madhouse of a bus field (not quite a terminal although they called it that). We had competing offers for buses to Santa Rosa, each claiming to be the faster - we were practically being dragged to the buses. We hesitated though and after almost going on the old school bus, opted for the more "modern" but equally old highway bus. And guess what, it was the one which left first and didn´t stop at every corner for passengers. Looks like we lucked out for a change. It was almost comfortable except for the broken arm rest - and Geordie wasn´t happy with the woman standing up next to him rubbing her thigh against his leg. She only had two fingers on her left hand and was not a young ducky, so he may have misinterpreted her intentions. Well, he says she wasn´t even aware of it. The bus was full and had standees from the back to almost the front of the bus. We haven´t travelled like this in ages. Ah, the good old days.
In Santa Rosa we took a taxi up to a hotel that was recommended in Lonely Planet. The ride cost more than the trip from La Entrada for one person. Maybe they saw the gringos coming. The hotel is actually a B and B with only four rooms and is a converted house. Quite pleasant, with big large beds which are comfortable, a living room where we can sit and read and we have ordered breakfast tomorrow for 7:30. We had first ordered it for 8:30 but after a walk around town, realized that we didn´t need to stay any longer so could get on our way early. We did a little walk up to the central park and beyond, looking for a pizza place that came well recommended. That´s where we are going to eat, sorry all you foodies. For lunch though we had roasted chicken, Peruvian style -which brought back memories of some of the small towns we stopped at in Peru where roast chicken was the most easily found food. Tasty, and the french fries were good, made with real potatoes and fried a la minute.
Tomorrow we are off to El Salvador. We have to catch a bus to the border town from here, and then a bus to the Honduran border, do the formalities, then walk to the El Salvador border and a bus from there into El Salvador itself. We will probably change buses somewhere off there to get to the town we are heading to, if we manage to get all that done right. We´ll find a bed somewhere anyway.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Ruinas and Guns
We climbed pyramids today, without coughing, so we must be getting better. We got up nice and early, to discover there was no electricity - it was not on again until 3 pm. We had been expecting that since the last time we were here we lived with lack of electricity everywhere we went because of rotating power outages. I think they've fixed some of those problems, but obvioulsy it's not perfect.
It was a nice walk to the site though, about 15 minutes along a stone path, past a couple of stelae and then into the park and to the entrance where we were met with a flock of squawking Scarlet Macaws. They are so beautiful but so noisy. They are always there since they are fed. We think they may even have hutches on the site where they sleep at night. However, they are free to fly around - I guess they know when they've got it good.
The site of these Mayan ruins is very large and is famed for its sculptural works. The stelae are tall stones, which have been carved, many with human figures in ceremonial headdresses, often on one or two sides, while the other sides are covered with Mayan heiroglyphic writing which tells the reader about the ruler therein extolled. These are unlike any other sculptural works in the mayan world so are indeed a precious historical resource. As I mentioned in the last email, many of the originals are in the museum but the copies on site are faithful to the original so do give one the real flavour. One of the most important things on the site though is the Heiroglyphic Stairway which was found intact for the bottom 15 steps, but in a jumble above. The stairs were reconstructed but it is unlikely that the top tiers were restored in the correct order so it is still a task to decipher everythng. Luckily those bottom 15 stairs give lots of etail. It is indeed a magnificent site.
We wandered around the ball courts where the warriors played a rubber ball game, and might be sacrificed if they lost. Tell that to the NHL. I guess it could mean the loss of some good players though so seems very unsensible. How did they learn to improve? Of course it may have been considered glorious to be sacrificed, so who knows.
We only spent about two hours at the site wandering over the pyramids, up to the tops, some still covered with huge trees which have been allowed to grow or have not been cleared. There are often lots of temples which have been cleared so one can see how imposing the place would have been in its full glory.
And now for something completely different. This is a wild west town, and it feels very odd to walk around among all the cowbows in town. All the men seem to wear blue jeans, big white hats and many of them have big rodeo buckle belts. I don't know whether they do rodeo, but the belts can be bought in the market, so one doesn't have to be a bull rider to own one. These guys don't pack guns, but there are also lots of guns around. Outside the coffee shop where we enjoyed coffee today, there is a bank which is watched over by the hawkeyes of four guards. Two of them stand guard across the street, one of them right outside the window, with huge shotguns at the ready. A third stands outside the door with his shotgun and the fourth carries only a wand metal detector and a pistol on his hip.
And not only that, but there's a clothing store near the square, where on the first day I saw a guy standing at the door wearing a pistol tucked into the front of his pants. It would not do to act suspicious, and I don't know what would happen if someone tried to shoplift a hat or something. We are keeping our fingers to ourselves.
We are off tomorrow for a little interior city called Santa Rosa de Copan. We will take a bus first to a town called La Entrada from whence we will transfer to another bus heading there - we expect. It will take about four or five hours depending on the number of times the bus has to stop to pick up passengers. From there we are making our way to the El Salvador border to cross there and start exploring that country.
It was a nice walk to the site though, about 15 minutes along a stone path, past a couple of stelae and then into the park and to the entrance where we were met with a flock of squawking Scarlet Macaws. They are so beautiful but so noisy. They are always there since they are fed. We think they may even have hutches on the site where they sleep at night. However, they are free to fly around - I guess they know when they've got it good.
The site of these Mayan ruins is very large and is famed for its sculptural works. The stelae are tall stones, which have been carved, many with human figures in ceremonial headdresses, often on one or two sides, while the other sides are covered with Mayan heiroglyphic writing which tells the reader about the ruler therein extolled. These are unlike any other sculptural works in the mayan world so are indeed a precious historical resource. As I mentioned in the last email, many of the originals are in the museum but the copies on site are faithful to the original so do give one the real flavour. One of the most important things on the site though is the Heiroglyphic Stairway which was found intact for the bottom 15 steps, but in a jumble above. The stairs were reconstructed but it is unlikely that the top tiers were restored in the correct order so it is still a task to decipher everythng. Luckily those bottom 15 stairs give lots of etail. It is indeed a magnificent site.
We wandered around the ball courts where the warriors played a rubber ball game, and might be sacrificed if they lost. Tell that to the NHL. I guess it could mean the loss of some good players though so seems very unsensible. How did they learn to improve? Of course it may have been considered glorious to be sacrificed, so who knows.
We only spent about two hours at the site wandering over the pyramids, up to the tops, some still covered with huge trees which have been allowed to grow or have not been cleared. There are often lots of temples which have been cleared so one can see how imposing the place would have been in its full glory.
And now for something completely different. This is a wild west town, and it feels very odd to walk around among all the cowbows in town. All the men seem to wear blue jeans, big white hats and many of them have big rodeo buckle belts. I don't know whether they do rodeo, but the belts can be bought in the market, so one doesn't have to be a bull rider to own one. These guys don't pack guns, but there are also lots of guns around. Outside the coffee shop where we enjoyed coffee today, there is a bank which is watched over by the hawkeyes of four guards. Two of them stand guard across the street, one of them right outside the window, with huge shotguns at the ready. A third stands outside the door with his shotgun and the fourth carries only a wand metal detector and a pistol on his hip.
And not only that, but there's a clothing store near the square, where on the first day I saw a guy standing at the door wearing a pistol tucked into the front of his pants. It would not do to act suspicious, and I don't know what would happen if someone tried to shoplift a hat or something. We are keeping our fingers to ourselves.
We are off tomorrow for a little interior city called Santa Rosa de Copan. We will take a bus first to a town called La Entrada from whence we will transfer to another bus heading there - we expect. It will take about four or five hours depending on the number of times the bus has to stop to pick up passengers. From there we are making our way to the El Salvador border to cross there and start exploring that country.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Copan Ruinas
After our arrival here we havent been in too much of a rush to do things. We arrived early as we said, but later in the day had one of those hotel problems we come across every now and then. There was no water. For about five hours. We went off checking other places which did indeed have water, so it was just our hotel. One of the problems was that we couldn't find any body around our hotel to talk too. We have to go off to the corner restaurant where we were told that there was a problem with the cistern and it would be fixed "ahorita" - really soon. Well, we went off, came back a half hour later and there was still no sign of water, so we found someone else and told her that if the water wasn't fixed by 6:30 pm we were moving. Got back at 6:30 and there had been action - we had water so we were happy again. The cistern was ful and we could flush our toilet, and there,s even hot water.
Yesterday was our visit to the museum and we certainly enjoyed it. There is a full replica of the temple which was found beneath the present temple in the ruins themselves. It has many stucco carvings which represent macaws, and gods or deities as well as some human figures. The buidling is painted in brilliant reds, greens and whites. all colours that were found on the original when it was discovered. Apparently the temple was considered so holy that it was decided to bury it instead of destroying it to make a new temple.
There are many other sculptures in the musuem which have been moved from the site to protect them for the elements and perhaps the unsavory. These have been replaced by replicas so when we go see them tomorrow, they will add to the awe this site inspires. I took lots of pictures of the originals though and so far I havenñt managed to delete any more photos by accident.
This morning we went out to Macaw Mountain which is a bird sanctuary about 15 minutes out of town by tuk tuk. It{s a wonderful site, down in a little river valley, surrounded by high cliffs. All the birds here have been rescued or donated. The owners do not capture birds, but protect them. There were many macaws - scarlet, blue and gold brazilian ones, and green winged macaws as well as many many parrots. Also in some of the very large cages that have been constructed there are a number of toucans ' including the ones with the multicolour beaks and the yellow fronts. They are wonderful clown like but also very beautiful birds.
There{s even an old swimming hole at the site and we can go back if we wish to swim there over the next couple of days. We probably won{t but it sounds nice.
We had a very interested place for dinner our first night. We met the two guys from Frankfurt and all four of us went out to dinner at Carnitas Nia Loa. There we began by attempting to order a couple of drinks. It was happy hour so we thought we could make one order and get two drinks. Not quite. The woman arrived with eight drinks ' four run and coke and four cranberry and coke. So we all got two drinks each and enjoyed the different flavours. The food was tasty ¿ it{s a meat place, so I had steak and Geordie had something like fajitas with strips of meat, green peppers and onions. No vegetables though.
We are off to the ruins tomorrow, to see the site in it{s enirety. I{m looking forward to it, even if I do have to get up early so we can have breakfast and get to the site nice and early so we don{t get overheated. We are both still fighting our colds. Hey maybe it really is dengue fever. Lots of coughing, but we hav}en{t had any of those odd taste sensations that our friend Joanna had when she got dengue in India. But I{ve had a headache most of the time which is annoying. But I am coping not to worry.
Yesterday was our visit to the museum and we certainly enjoyed it. There is a full replica of the temple which was found beneath the present temple in the ruins themselves. It has many stucco carvings which represent macaws, and gods or deities as well as some human figures. The buidling is painted in brilliant reds, greens and whites. all colours that were found on the original when it was discovered. Apparently the temple was considered so holy that it was decided to bury it instead of destroying it to make a new temple.
There are many other sculptures in the musuem which have been moved from the site to protect them for the elements and perhaps the unsavory. These have been replaced by replicas so when we go see them tomorrow, they will add to the awe this site inspires. I took lots of pictures of the originals though and so far I havenñt managed to delete any more photos by accident.
This morning we went out to Macaw Mountain which is a bird sanctuary about 15 minutes out of town by tuk tuk. It{s a wonderful site, down in a little river valley, surrounded by high cliffs. All the birds here have been rescued or donated. The owners do not capture birds, but protect them. There were many macaws - scarlet, blue and gold brazilian ones, and green winged macaws as well as many many parrots. Also in some of the very large cages that have been constructed there are a number of toucans ' including the ones with the multicolour beaks and the yellow fronts. They are wonderful clown like but also very beautiful birds.
There{s even an old swimming hole at the site and we can go back if we wish to swim there over the next couple of days. We probably won{t but it sounds nice.
We had a very interested place for dinner our first night. We met the two guys from Frankfurt and all four of us went out to dinner at Carnitas Nia Loa. There we began by attempting to order a couple of drinks. It was happy hour so we thought we could make one order and get two drinks. Not quite. The woman arrived with eight drinks ' four run and coke and four cranberry and coke. So we all got two drinks each and enjoyed the different flavours. The food was tasty ¿ it{s a meat place, so I had steak and Geordie had something like fajitas with strips of meat, green peppers and onions. No vegetables though.
We are off to the ruins tomorrow, to see the site in it{s enirety. I{m looking forward to it, even if I do have to get up early so we can have breakfast and get to the site nice and early so we don{t get overheated. We are both still fighting our colds. Hey maybe it really is dengue fever. Lots of coughing, but we hav}en{t had any of those odd taste sensations that our friend Joanna had when she got dengue in India. But I{ve had a headache most of the time which is annoying. But I am coping not to worry.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
In Honduras
Yes, we survived our three thirty am wake up call and our van arrived on time to take us to Copan. We drove past Guatemala City in the dark and were glad we weren´t going in, because that could add a lot of time to a trip. We think that every truck in Guatemala was on the highway though, and our driver had few qualms about passing six or seven of them at at time. Looks like we were on the main road to the Caribbean side port town so the trucks were hauling lots of freight, and of course there´s no railway.
I actually slept for part of the journey early on because I had the back seat to myself and could lean up against the luggage stored on the rest of it. I woke up after daylight and enjoyed the amazing scenery on the way. I also had a lovely conversation about travel (what else?) with the two german men who I noticed were wearing matching rings. And if that weren´t enough, one of them went to sleep in the other´s lap. Very sweet. I hope we run into them again - they´ve have traveled a lot too and I´m sure could give us a few ideas.
Border formalities were pretty simple. Our driver rushed us off our van to beat the fancy Hedman Alas pullman bus that was just ahead of us. We did it too. First we had to check out of Guatemala which cost us 10 quetzals each (about $1.50), and then we had to enter Honduras which cost 25 quetzals each. AFter that we negotiated to change all the rest of our quetzals into Honduran Lempira which is about double Quetzals. The prices seem similar to Guatemala too - a drink which might cost 10 Q costs 20 L, so it will be easy to convert. When we get to El Salvador we get to deal in dollars, and then in Nicaragua we will switch to Cordobas. Hmmm - maybe these guides need to have a little chat with the European Union.
We emailed the hotel we are staying in to request a reservation - word is that they had a power outage yesterday so didn´t see any mail. That reminds us of the last time we were here when they were rationing power. Copan where we are now, had no power from midnight to 6 am then, which meant the fans were not much good to us. However, this is a different season and I think the evenings will be a little cooler.
Our room is quite colourful. We have red tiled floors, blue bedspreads, the walls are yellow orange till about a foot from the ceiling where there is a strip of Aqua blue and then the ceiling is pink. Think we´ll rest comfortably with all those colours competing?
Today we just wandered around town a little. We had a coffee first and a really nice biscuit - two shortbreak like cookies sandwiching some Dulce de Leche caramel. Yum. We got to town earlier than expected so we even decided to have a nap before going out after the coffee. Then we did a little wandering, got some money from the bank machine (we were worried about that after our experience in Monterrico where there was no ATM that would take our card. Lunch was at a very local place where we had pupusas, which are a Salvadorean specialty. They are tortillas stuffed with a choice of fillings, including squash and flowers. We did not go so exotic and had chicken and bean fillings although Geordie did have some chicharron with his beans - that´s crispy pig fat I think. It tasted nice and porky.
We are going to head to the Ruins Museum tomorrow. It is new and was not here when we visited last. The guide books suggest visiting it first. We may do things a day at a time. Today we looked at the little local museum. Tomorrow the big museum, next day the ruins themselves, if we can keep ourselves out of them since we will be right there after the museum visit. There is another ruin site not too far away and there is also a bird park with lots of macaws and other exotic birds flying around, and a butterfly farm too, so we have lots to do.
Now it´s time for another nap. We are still coughing away - the poor people on the bus had to listen to both of us hack. I don´t know whether they could hear my wheezing while I was sleeping. That´s a phenomenon I´ve never experienced before - it seems to keep Geordie awake as well as me. He has good hearing. We will start being better with ourselves and drink more water (thanks Kerri), and we are guzzling cough syrup, taking flu medications. We have everything one could need. Even a powder which dissolves in hot water, tastes of lemon and has paracetamol in it - which should help one sleep.
I actually slept for part of the journey early on because I had the back seat to myself and could lean up against the luggage stored on the rest of it. I woke up after daylight and enjoyed the amazing scenery on the way. I also had a lovely conversation about travel (what else?) with the two german men who I noticed were wearing matching rings. And if that weren´t enough, one of them went to sleep in the other´s lap. Very sweet. I hope we run into them again - they´ve have traveled a lot too and I´m sure could give us a few ideas.
Border formalities were pretty simple. Our driver rushed us off our van to beat the fancy Hedman Alas pullman bus that was just ahead of us. We did it too. First we had to check out of Guatemala which cost us 10 quetzals each (about $1.50), and then we had to enter Honduras which cost 25 quetzals each. AFter that we negotiated to change all the rest of our quetzals into Honduran Lempira which is about double Quetzals. The prices seem similar to Guatemala too - a drink which might cost 10 Q costs 20 L, so it will be easy to convert. When we get to El Salvador we get to deal in dollars, and then in Nicaragua we will switch to Cordobas. Hmmm - maybe these guides need to have a little chat with the European Union.
We emailed the hotel we are staying in to request a reservation - word is that they had a power outage yesterday so didn´t see any mail. That reminds us of the last time we were here when they were rationing power. Copan where we are now, had no power from midnight to 6 am then, which meant the fans were not much good to us. However, this is a different season and I think the evenings will be a little cooler.
Our room is quite colourful. We have red tiled floors, blue bedspreads, the walls are yellow orange till about a foot from the ceiling where there is a strip of Aqua blue and then the ceiling is pink. Think we´ll rest comfortably with all those colours competing?
Today we just wandered around town a little. We had a coffee first and a really nice biscuit - two shortbreak like cookies sandwiching some Dulce de Leche caramel. Yum. We got to town earlier than expected so we even decided to have a nap before going out after the coffee. Then we did a little wandering, got some money from the bank machine (we were worried about that after our experience in Monterrico where there was no ATM that would take our card. Lunch was at a very local place where we had pupusas, which are a Salvadorean specialty. They are tortillas stuffed with a choice of fillings, including squash and flowers. We did not go so exotic and had chicken and bean fillings although Geordie did have some chicharron with his beans - that´s crispy pig fat I think. It tasted nice and porky.
We are going to head to the Ruins Museum tomorrow. It is new and was not here when we visited last. The guide books suggest visiting it first. We may do things a day at a time. Today we looked at the little local museum. Tomorrow the big museum, next day the ruins themselves, if we can keep ourselves out of them since we will be right there after the museum visit. There is another ruin site not too far away and there is also a bird park with lots of macaws and other exotic birds flying around, and a butterfly farm too, so we have lots to do.
Now it´s time for another nap. We are still coughing away - the poor people on the bus had to listen to both of us hack. I don´t know whether they could hear my wheezing while I was sleeping. That´s a phenomenon I´ve never experienced before - it seems to keep Geordie awake as well as me. He has good hearing. We will start being better with ourselves and drink more water (thanks Kerri), and we are guzzling cough syrup, taking flu medications. We have everything one could need. Even a powder which dissolves in hot water, tastes of lemon and has paracetamol in it - which should help one sleep.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Antigua No. 3
This is Geordie. Nigel is in bed at 2 pm in Antigua.
Today we had assured tickets on a shuttle (van) from San Pedro la Laguna on Lake Atitlan direct (no boat) to Antigua at 9 am. By 9:10 it was obvious from all the phone calls the guy was making that there was a problem. Problem? We got our money back and walked down the street to the dock. Got a launch direct to Pana (no stops at the villages). We walked up the hill to a tuk-tuk (3 wheeled thing which they call taxis) and drove to a travel office. Arrived at 9:55 and before 10 we were on a shuttle to Antigua. All worked very well. Over the years it has have often been able to jump from one vehicle to another and another and another. The driver took a different way which was very rural, very up and down and very curvy. Nigel who has something (flu)?? was near to sick most of the time. Other than that the drive was beautiful.
We will be here for at least 2 nights until Nigel feels he can make a 4 am shuttle and 6 hour ride to Copan, Honduras.
Off to the square for a visit to the bank and coffee. Guatemalan coffee is sooo good. I won't have my usual protector with me at the bank so must check if anyone is following me after.
Today we had assured tickets on a shuttle (van) from San Pedro la Laguna on Lake Atitlan direct (no boat) to Antigua at 9 am. By 9:10 it was obvious from all the phone calls the guy was making that there was a problem. Problem? We got our money back and walked down the street to the dock. Got a launch direct to Pana (no stops at the villages). We walked up the hill to a tuk-tuk (3 wheeled thing which they call taxis) and drove to a travel office. Arrived at 9:55 and before 10 we were on a shuttle to Antigua. All worked very well. Over the years it has have often been able to jump from one vehicle to another and another and another. The driver took a different way which was very rural, very up and down and very curvy. Nigel who has something (flu)?? was near to sick most of the time. Other than that the drive was beautiful.
We will be here for at least 2 nights until Nigel feels he can make a 4 am shuttle and 6 hour ride to Copan, Honduras.
Off to the square for a visit to the bank and coffee. Guatemalan coffee is sooo good. I won't have my usual protector with me at the bank so must check if anyone is following me after.
Friday, January 23, 2009
La Casa del Mundo and San Pedro de la Laguna
We had four wonderful days in La Casa del Mundo in Jaibailito, although I apologize for the long delay between our messages. (Note to Kerri, Cathy, Dolores, and Jenny - I´ve included you in this message, and can add you to our list which many of our friends read. Let me know if you would prefer not having these missives. You can decide after reading this one I guess, lol.)
You already know that we arrived in La Casa safely, and that we even met some wonderful people there, but it was more than that. We had a great time, with good people with whom we seemed to share some real camaraderie, and not just folk met on the road. I guess it was cemented on January 20th when I met Kerri and Jenny down at the water for our first 7:30 am swim. It was Kerri´s birthday and it was a promise we´d made and of course must keep. She was in first (not her first time) but Jenny and I took a little longer to commit to the water - that first bracing brisk plunge made us odd converts to the pleasures of the waters of Lago de Atitlán. Kerri says it´s therapeutic - maybe, but it was certainly shockingly cold for the first moments in. Remember that this water is about 600 feet deep just a few meters out from the shore. And a 1000 feet deep further out. Little surprise that the temperature was a little shocking. But in moments that water had become an inviting silky pleasure. I even went back at 11:00 am for another swim. And joined our merry band at 7:30 am for the next two days we were there too, although it wasn´t till after the first I learned that part of the ritual was to stop off at the restaurant for a coffee on the way down. That was just nice. (Jenny christened us the Lago de Atitlán Sociedad Aquatico (LASO), and we will be that forever now.
As well as the wonderful opportunity we had to bond in the lake our meals were as pleasureable. Our second evening we had a great time together along with several others at the resort, helping the continued celebration of Kerri´s birthday. We ate well at all our meals too - they were always four courses, and each night was very different from the one before. Delicious food. We ate Thai one night, Guatemalan another, but since the old memory is going, at the moment, the other two meals are just a blend of good food, good wine, good conversation and sympatico!
Of course we did go off and do things on our own. I casually suggested on our second day that we could walk to Santa Cruz, the next village to the left of our place. Our other intrepid band members had done it the day before and even said the hill was a killer, but I didn´t get the significance of that until we did it ourselves. Yeah, the walk along the hillside, with sometimes a very narrow strip of path to stand on (a foot wide?) was daunting, but hey, it wasn´t that bad. Until we decided we should walk up into the village instead of just hang out at the pier. Oh, my, god! The hilltop villages in Spain and Italy must be jealous of that hill. And as we went up this paved, bare, unshaded slope, we kept being passed by tuk-tuks - (hey you guys back there at La Casa - ya coulda told us, lol.)
But we did it. And were glad we did. There were no child labour events happening the day we walked up, but the church at the top has some fascinating statuary - including a Santiago, to remind us of our camino plans for Spain. Certainly if we stayed here at La Casa for the whole time we are away we would be ready for the hills and the long walks of the Camino. Going up and down the steps four or five times a day, to our room, to the restaurant, to the swimming deck, and our little walks to Jaibalito and Santa Cruz we would be guaranteed to both get ourselves fit and to lose that excess weight we have acquired this past year.
We felt great sadness when we left the Casa to continue on our way. With our departure on the same day as Jenny and Cathy, we left Kerri to fend for herself. But she is such a wonderful person that we know she can make friends in an instant. Hugs Kerri.
We left yesterday for San Pedro de la Laguna. We thought we needed to see more of the lakeside, so we reluctantly headed off. The boat trip over was fun; I had a good conversation with the 15 year old boatboy who was coolness personified, but also smart. I hope he makes his way in the world with great success. We arrived at a sensible hour and found a cheap but comfortable hotel very quickly, then set off to have something to eat for lunch. We walked along the rough path that passes for a road on the little maps we´ve seen - there are real roads here, but these are just dirt tracks, but they did take us along to a really lovely restaurant with a Spanish chef from Barcelona who fed us tortilla de Espaná and Jamon Serrano - now that was a surprise and of course another lovely memory of Spain for us to indulge in.
Following lunch we walked some more, through cornfields with corn actually growing in them (not all the corn fields are in growth) and in a couple of places big swathes of fennel which gave off that wonderful scent of licorice when we brushed them. Mmm. I haven´t seen any sign of fennel on the menus - I wonder what they do with it.
We ate well last night, tuna with a lovely herbed sauce for me, with tiny new potatoes stirfried with mint. Then we went back past the coffeed processing plant which is just across the road from us which at that later hour was in full swing. I have to tell you that whatever is going on, the smell off that plant is not pleasant. I can´t figure out if the smell is from the coffee skins which are being husked off, or whether they are using some chemical to process it. But it´s not pleasant. At least in our room the wind seems to be going the right way.
Today wasn´t my best day though. I woke up this morning, after feeling under the weather last night and knew I had some bug or other. My throat and my chest both hurt when I cough and I had a really bad headache. We are hoping this doesn´t interfere with our plans. I took aspirins twice today but they never touched my headache, so at four o´clock I broke down and took some of my emergency supply of tylenol3, which seems to have helped a lot. I don´t feel quite as feverish, although maybe staying in bed from 11:00 am till 4:00 pm helped that too.
We have booked tickets on a shuttle tomorrow morning that leaves at 9 am for Antigua. We have decided to skip going to Pana - because when we drove through it on our way to the lake we were not at all impressed at how much it had grown and over gringoed - and it was bad enough the last time I was here 18 years ago. We have booked the same hotel for tomorrow night in Antigua that we have already enjoyed twice and it´s likely that I´ll vote for another day to see if this flu-ey feeling goes away. I don´t relish the thought of going to Antigua tomorrow and then leaving the next morning at 4 am for the shuttle to Copan in Honduras which is really our next planned stop. We will be finished with Guatemala then and be planning our trip though El Salvador to Nicaragua for the next six weeks or so.
You already know that we arrived in La Casa safely, and that we even met some wonderful people there, but it was more than that. We had a great time, with good people with whom we seemed to share some real camaraderie, and not just folk met on the road. I guess it was cemented on January 20th when I met Kerri and Jenny down at the water for our first 7:30 am swim. It was Kerri´s birthday and it was a promise we´d made and of course must keep. She was in first (not her first time) but Jenny and I took a little longer to commit to the water - that first bracing brisk plunge made us odd converts to the pleasures of the waters of Lago de Atitlán. Kerri says it´s therapeutic - maybe, but it was certainly shockingly cold for the first moments in. Remember that this water is about 600 feet deep just a few meters out from the shore. And a 1000 feet deep further out. Little surprise that the temperature was a little shocking. But in moments that water had become an inviting silky pleasure. I even went back at 11:00 am for another swim. And joined our merry band at 7:30 am for the next two days we were there too, although it wasn´t till after the first I learned that part of the ritual was to stop off at the restaurant for a coffee on the way down. That was just nice. (Jenny christened us the Lago de Atitlán Sociedad Aquatico (LASO), and we will be that forever now.
As well as the wonderful opportunity we had to bond in the lake our meals were as pleasureable. Our second evening we had a great time together along with several others at the resort, helping the continued celebration of Kerri´s birthday. We ate well at all our meals too - they were always four courses, and each night was very different from the one before. Delicious food. We ate Thai one night, Guatemalan another, but since the old memory is going, at the moment, the other two meals are just a blend of good food, good wine, good conversation and sympatico!
Of course we did go off and do things on our own. I casually suggested on our second day that we could walk to Santa Cruz, the next village to the left of our place. Our other intrepid band members had done it the day before and even said the hill was a killer, but I didn´t get the significance of that until we did it ourselves. Yeah, the walk along the hillside, with sometimes a very narrow strip of path to stand on (a foot wide?) was daunting, but hey, it wasn´t that bad. Until we decided we should walk up into the village instead of just hang out at the pier. Oh, my, god! The hilltop villages in Spain and Italy must be jealous of that hill. And as we went up this paved, bare, unshaded slope, we kept being passed by tuk-tuks - (hey you guys back there at La Casa - ya coulda told us, lol.)
But we did it. And were glad we did. There were no child labour events happening the day we walked up, but the church at the top has some fascinating statuary - including a Santiago, to remind us of our camino plans for Spain. Certainly if we stayed here at La Casa for the whole time we are away we would be ready for the hills and the long walks of the Camino. Going up and down the steps four or five times a day, to our room, to the restaurant, to the swimming deck, and our little walks to Jaibalito and Santa Cruz we would be guaranteed to both get ourselves fit and to lose that excess weight we have acquired this past year.
We felt great sadness when we left the Casa to continue on our way. With our departure on the same day as Jenny and Cathy, we left Kerri to fend for herself. But she is such a wonderful person that we know she can make friends in an instant. Hugs Kerri.
We left yesterday for San Pedro de la Laguna. We thought we needed to see more of the lakeside, so we reluctantly headed off. The boat trip over was fun; I had a good conversation with the 15 year old boatboy who was coolness personified, but also smart. I hope he makes his way in the world with great success. We arrived at a sensible hour and found a cheap but comfortable hotel very quickly, then set off to have something to eat for lunch. We walked along the rough path that passes for a road on the little maps we´ve seen - there are real roads here, but these are just dirt tracks, but they did take us along to a really lovely restaurant with a Spanish chef from Barcelona who fed us tortilla de Espaná and Jamon Serrano - now that was a surprise and of course another lovely memory of Spain for us to indulge in.
Following lunch we walked some more, through cornfields with corn actually growing in them (not all the corn fields are in growth) and in a couple of places big swathes of fennel which gave off that wonderful scent of licorice when we brushed them. Mmm. I haven´t seen any sign of fennel on the menus - I wonder what they do with it.
We ate well last night, tuna with a lovely herbed sauce for me, with tiny new potatoes stirfried with mint. Then we went back past the coffeed processing plant which is just across the road from us which at that later hour was in full swing. I have to tell you that whatever is going on, the smell off that plant is not pleasant. I can´t figure out if the smell is from the coffee skins which are being husked off, or whether they are using some chemical to process it. But it´s not pleasant. At least in our room the wind seems to be going the right way.
Today wasn´t my best day though. I woke up this morning, after feeling under the weather last night and knew I had some bug or other. My throat and my chest both hurt when I cough and I had a really bad headache. We are hoping this doesn´t interfere with our plans. I took aspirins twice today but they never touched my headache, so at four o´clock I broke down and took some of my emergency supply of tylenol3, which seems to have helped a lot. I don´t feel quite as feverish, although maybe staying in bed from 11:00 am till 4:00 pm helped that too.
We have booked tickets on a shuttle tomorrow morning that leaves at 9 am for Antigua. We have decided to skip going to Pana - because when we drove through it on our way to the lake we were not at all impressed at how much it had grown and over gringoed - and it was bad enough the last time I was here 18 years ago. We have booked the same hotel for tomorrow night in Antigua that we have already enjoyed twice and it´s likely that I´ll vote for another day to see if this flu-ey feeling goes away. I don´t relish the thought of going to Antigua tomorrow and then leaving the next morning at 4 am for the shuttle to Copan in Honduras which is really our next planned stop. We will be finished with Guatemala then and be planning our trip though El Salvador to Nicaragua for the next six weeks or so.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Guatemalan food so far!
Well, I guess I can talk about food now. We have had several requests for it, so we thought it would be a good idea to share. We have a confession first. We really haven't gone out of our way to find Guatemalan food. We have seen some evidence of it on menus, but I have resisted since I'm not much of a fan of corn tortillas which are certainly ubuquitous here. Geordie likes them and has had them with his breakfast but not much else.
We have mentioned our discovery of Hector's No name restaurant in Antigua. It has very European food - and great french fries, although we only had those once. The menu is very small and the first night one of us should have ordered the special because it was chicken stuffed with leeks and he hasn't had a special on any other of the nights we ate there. The duck breast with a pave of potatoes and carrots and a lovely surprising creme fraiche topping was wonderful. Geordie had the boeuf bourgignon twice, the first more successful than the second (which was a little chewey).
In Montericco we stuck to fish, fried and for me a pasta or two. The pasta's were nice - I'm really into comfort food like that. But we really did need to go out and search for more authentic food, so when we were back in Antigua we made the effort. The first place we tried was good. It is mentioned in the guidebooks and truly does have all the food sitting on a stove that's at the entrance. All are in red sauces, and one of them was described as picante, but the others were not. There was pork, lamb, pork feet, beef, cow stomach, etc. We got to choose a meat and then two sides. I chose lamb ribs while Geordie chose the shredded beef. The lamb was tasty, and I had it with tiny potatoes and black beans. Geordie's beef had potatoes and carrots in it so he chose rice and potato salad. He enjoyed them both, but they weren't spectacular.
At another place Geordie ordered a turkey soup which I watched being dished up from a big pot. He was served it in a huge bowl, wonderful tasty broth, that one knew had to have been flavoured with some intriguing spices, and alongside it he was given three little bowls, containing onions and cilantro in one, a herb like sage or savory in another, a red powder, which was not chili in the last. He kept adding more and more of that, which changed the flavor but didn't make it hot. It was good. I had a simple roast chicken there whose skin was redolent of garlic. Yum.
At the next meal, I ordered something different - Pupusas with Pepian. These were two thin corn tortillas which were stuffed with chees and chicken, and fried. It was simple and very delicious. Even with corn tortillas I'll order that again. The pepian was a sauce made from pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, cinnamon and other flavours but it didn't tast at all strong. It was lovely. The garnish was a cabbage salad which I also enjoyed.
Geordie's meal that time was a dish like a Mexican tostado, a crisp tortilla layered with guacamole, spicy chicken, cabbage relilsh and lettuce. It was great although he enjoyed the fact that I got rice with my dish, so he could expand his meal - because it was dinner, while the food was really more snacklike. It would have been perfect for a small lunch.
Last night at dinner here in La Casa del Mundo we had a chicken and vegetable kebob affair, which was delicious. I can't tell you the other flavours but it was so well cooked, moist and tender with that smoky flavour from the grill. It was served with potato puree, a tomato and avocado salad, and we had a delicious corn soup to begin - again with the corn I don't like. Hmmm. Dessert was a sort of strawberry shortcake which was lovely and we ate the whole thing with a bottle of Cab Sauvignon from Chile - cheaper than other bottles we've had in Antigua.
There are lots of more food adventures to be had. I'll get to another report some day. Until then, buen provecho..
We have mentioned our discovery of Hector's No name restaurant in Antigua. It has very European food - and great french fries, although we only had those once. The menu is very small and the first night one of us should have ordered the special because it was chicken stuffed with leeks and he hasn't had a special on any other of the nights we ate there. The duck breast with a pave of potatoes and carrots and a lovely surprising creme fraiche topping was wonderful. Geordie had the boeuf bourgignon twice, the first more successful than the second (which was a little chewey).
In Montericco we stuck to fish, fried and for me a pasta or two. The pasta's were nice - I'm really into comfort food like that. But we really did need to go out and search for more authentic food, so when we were back in Antigua we made the effort. The first place we tried was good. It is mentioned in the guidebooks and truly does have all the food sitting on a stove that's at the entrance. All are in red sauces, and one of them was described as picante, but the others were not. There was pork, lamb, pork feet, beef, cow stomach, etc. We got to choose a meat and then two sides. I chose lamb ribs while Geordie chose the shredded beef. The lamb was tasty, and I had it with tiny potatoes and black beans. Geordie's beef had potatoes and carrots in it so he chose rice and potato salad. He enjoyed them both, but they weren't spectacular.
At another place Geordie ordered a turkey soup which I watched being dished up from a big pot. He was served it in a huge bowl, wonderful tasty broth, that one knew had to have been flavoured with some intriguing spices, and alongside it he was given three little bowls, containing onions and cilantro in one, a herb like sage or savory in another, a red powder, which was not chili in the last. He kept adding more and more of that, which changed the flavor but didn't make it hot. It was good. I had a simple roast chicken there whose skin was redolent of garlic. Yum.
At the next meal, I ordered something different - Pupusas with Pepian. These were two thin corn tortillas which were stuffed with chees and chicken, and fried. It was simple and very delicious. Even with corn tortillas I'll order that again. The pepian was a sauce made from pumpkin seeds, tomatoes, cinnamon and other flavours but it didn't tast at all strong. It was lovely. The garnish was a cabbage salad which I also enjoyed.
Geordie's meal that time was a dish like a Mexican tostado, a crisp tortilla layered with guacamole, spicy chicken, cabbage relilsh and lettuce. It was great although he enjoyed the fact that I got rice with my dish, so he could expand his meal - because it was dinner, while the food was really more snacklike. It would have been perfect for a small lunch.
Last night at dinner here in La Casa del Mundo we had a chicken and vegetable kebob affair, which was delicious. I can't tell you the other flavours but it was so well cooked, moist and tender with that smoky flavour from the grill. It was served with potato puree, a tomato and avocado salad, and we had a delicious corn soup to begin - again with the corn I don't like. Hmmm. Dessert was a sort of strawberry shortcake which was lovely and we ate the whole thing with a bottle of Cab Sauvignon from Chile - cheaper than other bottles we've had in Antigua.
There are lots of more food adventures to be had. I'll get to another report some day. Until then, buen provecho..
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